The Golden Bowl
by Henry James
1904/ 386 pages
rating 8 – classic

What if a widowed father were so rich he could buy his beloved only daughter a financially embarrassed Italian Prince to marry? And what if beloved daughter’s best girlfriend and the aforementioned Prince had met before and fallen in love, but because neither has money they can’t marry? Still, best friend has to marry someone, right? Preferably someone rich as this is the Gilded Age, the Belle Epoque, whatever. So girlfriend marries rich widowed daddy which puts Prince and girlfriend together for intimate moments because rich daddy and beloved daughter really prefer each other’s company. That gives a close and concerned mutual friend, confidante and meddlesome Fanny Assingham (yes, that’s the name of my favorite character), as well as the main characters, plenty to consider, speculate, surmise and generally think about – as well as scheme.  >>>MORE>>>